Goal: Find the area of a trapezoid.

You need to know:

• A Trapezoid is a 4-sided shape that has only two parallel sides.
• The parallel sides are called bases. The bases are always labeled "b sub 1" and "b sub 2" (see the picture below for what this looks like.)
• The height of a trapezoid is always the distance between the two bases.

Formula to find the area (A) of a trapezoid:

Remember order of operations in this formula!

Example:

Find the area of this trapezoid.

Solution:

A = 1/2 x (6 + 15) x 9.25
A = 1/2 x (21) x 9.25
A = 97.125 square feet

You try it:

Find the area of this trapezoid.

Hint: Remember, the bases are the two parallel sides.

Click here for the answer.